putting us in control of our energy future, now. >>> for the first time in a week president obama and speaker boehner talked about the fiscal cliff. it was by phone. both sides agreed that they would not talk about the details. what we do know is that it has not led yet to any major breakthroughs. we want to get to congressman steve latourette, republican from the state of ohio. he is leaving congress, decided not to run for re-election, citing gridlock as a big reason why. we appreciate your time with us this morning. >> thank you. >> can we start with syria first before we get to the fiscal cliff? we know that there's this red line that hillary clinton has talked about. but nbc news has reported that syria is loading chemical weapon components on to bombs, which could -- makes us think, well, what's the next step? to what degree does this mean military action for the united states? >> couple of things, the nbc report is unconfirmed. the other piece of news is that the secretary is expected to meet with the russian foreign minister in dublin, i believe, and talk specifically about ge